Garden Ladybugs

Ladybugs for controlling pests in your garden are the most popular and widely used beneficial insects for commercial and home use. Ladybugs are capable of consuming up to 50 to 60 aphids per day but will also eat a variety of other insects and larvae including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites, and various types of soft-bodied insects. Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybird beetles, are a very beneficial group of insects. Ladybugs are natural enemies of many insect pests and it has been demonstrated that a single ladybug may consume as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime.

The Garden Variety

Garden Deluxe Variety

Ladybugs will feed on other pests, but are best known to eliminate aphid populations, and are one of the most active predators. They search all day from dawn to dusk for food. Ladybugs are shipped in the adult stage and is one of the most effective economically important insect predator known.

When you buy ladybugs from almost any other source they have been hauled all around the United States from 2 to 3 different companies. It is best to order fresh healthy ladybugs and have them delivered directly to you from a reliable source. This stresses out the ladybugs, robbing them of their vigor, aphid eating and reproduction capabilities. Other ladybugs may travel an extra 900 to 4,000 miles over 3 to 5 days or more before they reach you! Our ladybugs are shipped FedEx next day delivery or FedEx second day delivery, your choice.

Ladybug eggs are football-shaped and orange in color and laid in circular clusters of 3-20 on the underside of leaves. Each female can lay 10-50 eggs daily. The larve consume up to 400 aphids at a rate of 50-60 aphids a day in later stages. If food supplies are short they will cannibalize each other. Larvae live for three weeks before pupating.

After 2-5 days adults emerge and continue to feed. Pollen and nectar are necessary for maturation of newly emerged lady bug adults, particularly before a winter hibernation season. Adults can survive on pollen and nectar for limited periods, but a supply of aphids or other prey is necessary for egg production.

Pests Attacked

Most lady beetles found on crops and in gardens are aphid predators. Some species prefer only certain aphid species while others will attack many aphid species on a variety of crops. Some prefer mite or scale species. If aphids are scarce, lady beetle adults and larvae may feed on the eggs of moths and beetles, and mites, thrips, and other small insects, as well as pollen and nectar. They may also be cannibalistic. Because of their ability to survive on other prey when aphids are in short supply, lady beetles are particularly valuable natural enemies.

Life Cycle

Within a year, there can be as many as 5-6 generations of ladybugs as the average time from egg to adult only takes about 3-4 weeks. In the spring, adults find food and then the females lay anywhere from 50-300 eggs. The tiny eggs are yellow & oval shaped and are usually found in clusters of 10-50, near aphid colonies. The eggs take 3-5 days to hatch and the larvae voraciously feed on aphids for 2-3 weeks before they pupate into adults.

In the fall, adults hibernate in plant refuse and crevices. They often do this in mass where several hundred adults will gather at the base of a tree, along a fence row or under a rock. They especially like areas where leaves protect them from cold winter temperatures. Like all beetles, the lady beetles have a complete metamorphosis with distinct egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages. Adults of one common species, the Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens), spend the winter in protected hiding places such as logs, buiIdings, ground covering vegetation, and the like, where many hundreds of individuals may cluster together. With the onset of spring the adults leave their winter homes and fly to fields and yards where mating takes place. The females deposit the eggs in clusters of up to a dozen per mass. The larvae hatch from the eggs in about a week and immediately start to consume aphids or other appropriate food. In a little less than a month they pupate and the pupal period lasts only about one week. When the adults emerge they too feed on aphids, but as fall approaches they may eat some pollen which supplies fat for winter hibernation.

Attracting Ladybugs in the Garden

Apart from aphids, ladybugs also require a source of pollen for food and are attracted to specific types of plants. The most popular ones have umbrella shaped flowers such as fennel, dill, cilantro, caraway, angelica, tansy, wild carrot & yarrow. Other plants that also attract ladybugs include cosmos (especially the white ones), coreopsis, and scented geraniums, dandelions.

When you are home, put the bag in a cool place (refrigerator) until late in the day or early morning. Do not release the ladybugs during the heat of the day or while the sun is shining. Sprinkle or irrigate the area before releasing, so the ladybugs will have a drink of water after their journey.

Being wild creatures, ladybugs will leave if they don't like their new home. You may have to experiment to provide the right environment for them. As I mention above, it is important to release the ladybugs in the evening or later because they will not fly at night and need a settling down period after being handled.

When releasing, gently scatter or spread them out so each ladybug can find food immediately. To help ensure the success of your program, there are many ways you can improve the habitat for beneficial insects. One of these is to keep moisture levels high, as many beneficials require high humidity or ready access to free water droplets. High humidity is more easily maintained by having plants close together. The garden or field should have various lowering plants to provide nectar and pollen for adult beneficial insects. In general, a mixture of closely-growing plants and flowers will greatly benefit both native and beneficial insects. This should result in higher productivity for your organic garden or farm.

Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or ladybird beetles, are natural enemies of many insect pests and it has been demonstrated that a single lady beetle may consume as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime.

Apart from planting attractive plants in the garden, you can also promote ladybug populations by elimination of spraying insecticides. Not only are ladybugs sensitive to most synthetic insecticides, but if the majority of their food source is gone, they won't lay their eggs in your garden. As difficult as it may be, allowing aphids to live on certain plants is necessary to ensure that there is enough food for ladybugs. In addition, resist the urge to squish bugs & eggs in the garden, unless you're certain that they are not beneficial.

RELEASE INSTRUCTIONS:

When you are home, put the bag in a cool place (refrigerator) until late in the day or early morning. Do not release the ladybugs during the heat of the day or while the sun is shining. Sprinkle or irrigate the area before releasing, so the ladybugs will have a drink of water after their journey.

Being wild creatures, ladybugs will leave if they don't like their new home. You may have to experiment to provide the right environment for them. As I mention above, it is important to release the ladybugs in the evening or later because they will not fly at night and need a settling down period after being handled.

When releasing, gently scatter or spread them out so each ladybug can find food immediately. To help ensure the success of your program, there are many ways you can improve the habitat for beneficial insects. One of these is to keep moisture levels high, as many beneficials require high humidity or ready access to free water droplets. High humidity is more easily maintained by having plants close together. The garden or field should have various lowering plants to provide nectar and pollen for adult beneficial insects. In general, a mixture of closely-growing plants and flowers will greatly benefit both native and beneficial insects. This should result in higher productivity for your organic garden or farm.

Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or ladybird beetles, are natural enemies of many insect pests and it has been demonstrated that a single lady beetle may consume as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime.